Success in leadership is NOT usually found at the end of an easy, well-paved road. Many people, teams, and organizations look for shortcuts, abandon ethics, and sacrifice success for a quick unrewarding finish. But there is something that successful people and companies have in common – they understand the value of going the extra mile.
For those of us who make it our life’s work to write and talk about leadership, coaches are a natural model. They work to motivate others and help them develop their abilities. They bring people together in teams and teach them to balance individual strengths and the growth of the group. They’re philosophical about winning and failure.
But even among great coaches, some stand especially tall. Pat Summitt, who died this week after a five-year battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, was one of those giants.
If you haven’t already seen it, The Jim Gaffigan Show—just starting its second season on TVLand—is a treat. It stars Gaffigan as a fictionalized version of himself—a standup comedian, husband, and father of five living with his family in New York City. Misadventures center on domestic topics, the temptations of food (a frequent topic in Gaffigan’s own standup routine), and interactions with a variety of characters.
Along with the laughs, there’s a sense underneath it all that these are people who know how to make life work well. And with a large family living in a two-bedroom apartment, that’s no small achievement. How they make that happen, while never set out didactically, is worth considering for anyone in charge of a team or organization. Here are a few examples:
As someone who’s both a leader and a father, I find myself drawn to think about the parallels between those two roles—especially around this time of year, when Father’s Day calls us all to think about the importance of fathers and the contributions they make to the lives of those around them.
Naturally, there are some obvious distinctions between the two. The bond between parent and child goes much deeper than any connections of leadership, however close. And there are issues of control and accountability in parenting that don’t apply—at least not in the same way—in leadership.
No matter how well you plan and train and prepare, sooner or later something will happen with the potential to do serious damage to your organization or team—the business equivalent to a tornado. It can take many forms: a sudden drastic change in your industry or regulatory environment, a disrupted supply chain, a major client that goes into bankruptcy, a degree of involvement in a newsworthy scandal, or throwing all your resources into pursuing a “can’t-miss” opportunity that can—and does, miss.
Whatever the situation, you find yourself staring at uncertainty and problems. There may be no good way to spin the situation, but there is a simple question you can use to convert it into a leadership opportunity: What can we learn from this?
An important part of any leader’s job is ensuring that people work together in accord. There are times when that happens naturally, but without strong leadership it’s easy for your team’s goodwill to fall apart under serious disagreement or a time of high stress.
After a few false starts, spring seems to finally be here for good. As we open windows and begin to enjoy longer days, sometimes we literally see our home in a different light—and it’s not always a good sight. Dusty corners, neglected stacks of old paperwork, clutter and smudges that seem to appear out of nowhere prompt us to schedule some time for the ritual of spring cleaning.
In organizational life, too, it’s important to stop from time to time and take a look around with fresh eyes. Where could your team use some work?
Most of us in business leadership have at least some degree of pride in our title, whether it’s manager, director, vice president, CEO, or owner. We put it on our business cards, on our office door, under our name in mail and email signature blocks. It lets people know two things: what you do, and how far you’ve risen.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with taking pride in your hard work or being happy when it’s rewarded. But the farther up the ladder you go, the more important it is to remember how little your title means to the people who matter most: the people on your team.
Every team experiences conflict. Whether it’s a battle for control, a clash of priorities, or just a difference in understanding, some degree of conflict is a fact of life in most work groups, civic organizations, neighborhoods or even families, for that matter.
Many conflicts are quickly resolved with little effort, part of the everyday give and take of group life, but some require intervention.
Emma Gatewood’s life would be a testament of strength and endurance even if she had never set foot on a hiking trail. The daughter of a Civil War veteran, she was born on a southeast Ohio farm in 1887. She married young and raised 11 children, enduring 33 years in a marriage so abusive that eventually the mayor of her town helped her obtain a divorce—an incredibly rare and difficult feat in those days.
After seeing an article in National Geographic about the Appalachian Trail, she told her children, now grown, that she was going for a walk. She left home in May 1955 with a couple hundred dollars, a pair of Keds sneakers, a homemade knapsack, a blanket, and a plastic shower curtain. She was 67 years old.